Electrically-conductive rail-joint and bond therefor.



No. 812,781. PATENTED FEB. 18, 1906. B. G. BRAINE. ELBUTRICALLY GONDUCTIVE RAIL JOINT AND BOND THEREFOR.

APPLIGATION FILED APR 11, 1904.

WITNESSES: INVENTORQ 46b1,?! QM Mz; fiw/ wnwfi Y 11 @413 1 1 SLW%TW "KM/W ATTORNEY UNITED STATES.

BANosoFr e. BRAINE. or NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE PATENT OFFICE. f

T ASSIGNMENTS, TO THE RAIL JOINT COMPANY, A CORPORATION OF NEW YORK.

ELECTRlC A'LLY -CONDU CTWE RAI -JOINT AND BONDITHEBEFOR- Specification of Letters Patent. Application filed A 511 11, 1904. Serial No. 202,611

Patented. Feb. .1 3,1906.

To alklalflfit it may] concern.-

' 1 Bed lnidwn that I, BANCROFT G; Beams;

acitiz of the United States, residing at New-York, in the borough of Brooklyn and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Electric-. ally-Conductive R'ailJoints and Bonds Therefor; nd I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled-in the .art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawin s, and to numerals of reference marked t ereon, which form a part of this specification.

' The objects of this invention are, to secure a moreperfect and durable electrical bond between two contiguous rails ofa railroad,

- whereby there will be secured a more free and open flow of the electrical current to or from the motor of an electric car or for other purposes, to reduce the cost of construction, and to secure other advantages and results, some of which ma be referred to hereinafter in connection with the description of the workin parts.

he invention consists in the improved electrically-conductive rail-joint, in the arrangements and combinations of parts of the same, and in the method and means of electrically bonding the said rails, all substantially as will be hereinafter set forth, and

- of connect .ings being w rail 5 having the head 6, over and on which the cars travel, the web 7, and th'e flange 8 of any usual construction. 9 9 indicate the splice or angle bars, and 10 the bolts for joining said rails and hars, the articular vanety bar or plate s own in the drawcontinuous? plate or connection.

To enable-the ordinary angleor splice-bar to serveas a conductor of the electric current of the deeper parts pf said t islcommonly known as the from one-rail to the next more M glorily and more effectually prevent t of arrangement of the inserted contact metal and to effect a closer contact of the splice-bar and rail with the inserted piece or stri I insert-.-

in recesses in the splice-bar and a so preferably in the rail a-plate or strip which is thicker than thedepth of the'recess-inwhich it is inserted, so that when the splice-bar is the stee 0 "oh the rails andsplice-bar are composed, will be compressed and'afterward by the pressure-of the trains there over, so as to effecta close contact 0 the inbolted t e strip of metal, which is softer'than serted piece 'with the said rail and splice'-bar.

The recesses are formed so that when pressure is brought to bear on the splice-bar and inserted plate or piece the pro ecting metaL of the inserted plate will flow laterally against the side walls of the recess, thereby effect. ing a close contact of said walls and con-' ducmg to a more perfect electrical conductivity and to prevent moisture from entering I between to produce anoznd' or othernonconductive or imperfectly-conductive 1ayer.

the rail Sand in the connecting-plates 9 the same are recessed or ooved, as at'll ,lengthwise of-the rail and p ates. The grooves are comparatively wide and shallow, and the bottoms of the said coves are convexednrs at 12, so that the e thof the grooves at their centers is less t an at thesrde wal ls.

With these ends in view at suitable points The on osite side walls 13ofthe grooves are r'ecesse or undercut, as shown more clearly in Figs. 2 and 3. Within the said grooves 11 are arranged conductive lates 14, which are preferably of copper, a uminium, zinc, or'

similar material, a comparatively soft ,metal of high conductivity bsfi preferred, such as copper or zinc, which I der pressure to the walls of the grooves.- .Said strips are of about the width of the grooves and of a thickness about equal to the depth ooves To secure the best cond tivity, refer to form the grooves 11 an ,hrrange t e conductive strips so that the st 'jn the rail will lie opposite the stri in t connecting-plate, the strips lyin ace to face and in contact one wit the ot er, as shown in Fig. .3. The conductive strips of metal on being inserted are in the form of flat sheets of somewhat greater conform itself 'un- 2 a I f 8123 81 thickness than the depth of the-centers of a said gro ovesias above indicated. When the connecting-plates and rails are brought together, on screwing up the bolts direct pres-' sure is-ibroiught to bearupon the softn1etal.

contiguous metal, the joints being thereby uid or moisture into said joints prevente undercut s1 very thm-o'ughly closed and the inflow of hi Thereby the oxidation, which tends to pro duce a partial insulation of the current and retard the' flow thereof, is avoided.

By bringing the two inserted strips of the contiguous rails into contact with the common nserted strip 'of the connecting-plate I secure a more perfect electrical bond, contact, or union of the rails, and becauseof the de walls the bondin plates are secured in place and held inp ace perinanently, and thus 'no destruction or preliminary removal-of electrical bonding is neces sary when rearranging-the rails or the roadbed.

v The operation of the device in conducting the electrical fluid isas 15 common in railroadbonds, except in that the bond is made more connecting-plates against the rails.

Having thus described the invention, what- .I claim as new is.

1. The combination with the rails and splice-bar, the latter having grooves with o'p- )osite undercutv 'walls, 'of conductive plates insertedin said grooves, and projecting at their opposite edges against the undercut side wa ls,substantially as set forth.

2. The combinationwith the grooved rails ,and grooved splice-bars, the grooves of the rails and connecting-plates having convex bottoms and undercut side walls, of plates arranged in said grooves and facing one an other, the said plates when pressed into place being thin at the centers of the c'onvexities and thicker at the side walls, substantially as set forth. p

3. In a rail-joint, the rail splice-bar hav ng" a longitudinal groove therein which has a convex bottom and undercut side walls, substantially as set forth. a

4. In a rail-joint, the combination with a rail having a base-flange, of splice-bars having bearings against said flange, said splicebars having grooves which are provided with centrally-convex bottoms and undercut side walls, and electrically-conductive plates arranged in said grooves and extending over the said convex bottomsfrom one undercut side wall to the o posite, undercut side wall.

5. In a rail-joint the combination with a rail having a base-flange, of'spliceebars having bearings against-said baseflange,. said splicebars having a lon itudinal groove which is provided with nn ercut side walls 5 adapted to receive and holdprojecting elecperlect and .complete by the bolting of the trically-conductive plates. Intestimony that I claim the foregoing I have hereunto set my hand this 7th day of April, 1904.. 4 BANCROFT G. BRAINE.

Witnesses:

CHARLES H. PELL, RUSSELL M. EVERETT. 

